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Cape Town Water Crisis Unlikely in S.A.

It’s a situation that’s hard to fathom: A major international city — Cape Town, South Africa — faced with running out of water in the coming months.

Since this news broke, some have wondered if the same could happen in major U.S. cities. For San Antonio, the answer is a resounding “No.”

Guided by San Antonio Water System’s Water Management Plan, which maps out water supply and aggressive conservation efforts for the next 50 years, San Antonio is well positioned to deal with both growth and increasing periods of drought.

On the conservation side, San Antonio’s total per capita water consumption has decreased significantly from 225 gallons in 1982 to 117 in 2016. By 2070, SAWS projects that number will fall to 88 gallons per capita per day

Over the years, San Antonio has bolstered its water supplies through regional partnerships and new projects such as the 2017 opening of our brackish desalination plant. It can produce 12 million gallons per day of drinking water — enough to supply up to 53,000 households.

By 2020, the Vista Ridge project will provide 20 percent more water to San Antonio for the next 30-plus years. The diversification of water supplies gives us greater independence from the droughtsensitive Edwards Aquifer. In fact, nearly one-third of SAWS water distributed in 2017 came from eight other sources.